Head over Heels: A Single Dad Romance(5)

I took a deep breath and turned to him. It was time to grab hold of those horns.





Chapter 4





In the middle of a rousing chorus of a classic rock anthem, Mimi stopped short and squealed. "Oh shit," she yelped and turned her head to avert her face from view. "Jeremy Rainier just walked in."

Fuck me - my timing sucked today.

Michael's head whipped over to Mimi and he chuckled, "So, your boss doesn't know you're here?"

"Nooooo, so… shhhhhhh" Mimi put her finger to her lips and whispered conspiratorially.

I watched my friend contort herself into a pretzel while trying to avoid detection, and I was immediately sorry for dragging her out of work and into the mess that was my life. I got us into this, so it was up to me to get us out.

I put aside my dream of a passion-filled encounter and turned to Michael. "This was fun," I apologized with a regretful grin, "but it's time to go."

"How are you getting home?"

"My car is-"

"No, you're not" he interrupted with a concern that I found both sweet and disconcerting. "Neither of you are in any shape to drive tonight."

He was right of course - if I was only half as bad as Mimi, then I was still way too far gone to drive. "Well then, I guess we'll have no choice but to call an Uber."

"That won't be necessary," he interjected in the same conspiratorial hush that Mimi was using, "I'm parked just outside - I'll drive you home."

The image of him driving us home opened all sorts of dirty thoughts into my mind, and just for the moment, I allowed them to run free. "That's so nice of you," I gushed.

I turned toward Mimi and noticed that she seemed to be melting into her chair to avoid detection. I rolled my eyes but also dipped my head toward her and whispered, "Michael is parked right outside-"

"Awesome!" Mimi cried out in a stage whisper while throwing her arms around me, "Devon, I think that's wonderful!"

Michael stood up and glanced around the bar, a moment later he leaned over to whisper in my ear, "Jeremy went into the back room. Can the two of you make it to the front door without me?"

He had moved so quickly that I was unprepared for the warmth of his hand on her shoulder, or the tingling that went down my back as he whispered in my ear.

"Yes - oh wait," stumbling over my words as he moved in closer, I took a breath and tried my best to think straight. "I have to pay the tab at the bar."

"I'll take care of that." As he spoke, his lips brushed against my cheek, and I had to control the urge to draw my fingertips up to caress his face. "Just wait for me out front," he commanded before quickly leaving my side.

As he moved away, I felt oddly dejected and more than a little bit perturbed that I couldn't throw him on the table and have him right there. I turned my head to follow his path and noticed him make his way past a table of rowdy construction workers before turning to follow my boss into the back room. Tamping down my curiosity, I gathered up my friend and headed for the entrance as ordered.

I did my best to hold on to Mimi with one arm and pushed open the heavy oak door with the other. As a result, we stumbled through the doorway and almost ended up in a heap on the sidewalk. A cool summer breeze sent a shiver down my spine and I straightened my back against it. After the warmth of the packed bar, and the intoxicating presence of booze and a good looking man, the crisp air felt invigorating. I took a deep breath in an effort to clear the fuzziness in my brain and considered my next move.

"Where are we going?"

With Mimi leaning against me, inebriated past anything I had ever seen before, I struggled to support my friend and prayed that Michael would join us before I lost the battle. "Michael is taking us home," I answered in my most soothing voice.

"Oh, man is he hot!" Mimi started to slip from my grasp as she turned back to the bar, "I think you should get a piece of that ass!"

Of course, Michael took that moment to step out the front door and catch Mimi before she hit the ground. "Up you go little lady," he called out cheerfully as he politely ignored her remark, "time to get you somewhere safer."

"Like a bed," Mimi growled while giving him what could have been called a come hither look.

"Yes," he returned amiably as he walked us toward his pickup truck, "you should be in bed."

Although the smile on Mimi's face told me she had missed the point of his comment, I didn't. As he bundled my friend into the passenger seat, she took the opportunity to wiggle her finger between me and Michael and then gave me an exaggerated wink. I rolled my eyes and waited for Michael to get her situated. When he stepped away from the cab, I looked inside and noticed that there were only two seats.

I tried not to be too crestfallen with the way things were turning out, after all, I was responsible for getting Mimi into this mess. "So, should I climb in back?" I tried hard to hide my disappointment and was surprised at his quick chuckle.

"No, don't worry," he said as he captured my hand and pulled me around to the driver's side, " it's a three seater." Opening the door, he popped up the arm rest like a magician revealing a trap door. "I hope you don't mind," he said as he helped me into the cab, "It's a bit of a tight fit."